why do we have a royal family

The royal family posing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace in 2015. The INSIDER Summary: в It can be hard to tell what the royal family's official duties are. в Generally, every royal supports charities, appears at events, and occasionally travels the globe to strengthen diplomatic relationships. в But some royals also have day jobs, and others have long military careers. People all over the world are obsessed with the British royal family. Most fans know all the royal names and faces, and even the family's But despite the constant flood of royal paparazzi photos and press releases it can be tough to discern what it is the family members actually do. The royals don't need to worry about money, since they're supported by both. So if they don't have to work, what are they doing day in and day out? This guide breaks down their general duties. Let's start with the head of the royal family: Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's calendar is filled with various activities known by the catch-all term "engagements. " Engagements include hosting heads of state, taking diplomatic trips, throwing parties at palaces, opening new sessions of Parliament, presenting citizens with awards, and a whole bunch more. that the Queen carried out 341 engagements in 2015 more than Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate combined. Pretty impressive for a 90-year-old woman. Queen Elizabeth II gives a speech during the opening of the Parliament's 2008 session. AP/Arthur Edwards, Pool The Queen must be neutral in all political matters and can't vote, but she does have a ceremonial role in the UK government. She, and has visits with the Prime Minister. Any legislation passed by Parliament must also get the Queen's stamp of approval (technically known as Royal Assent) before becoming law.

It's mostly a formality, though: No monarch has refused to give Royal Assent since 1707, when that would have recreated the Scottish militia after England and Scotland were formally unified. She also. Yes, that includes becoming a knight like Elton John or a dame like Helen Mirren but there's for achievements in the military, science, and more. In addition, she's the who presides over and appoints new archbishops, bishops, and deans as the. Sir Elton John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. Her charity work is impressive, too: As of her 90th birthday in April 2016, the Queen, though the palace recently announced that she'll be handing off some of her roles in these organizations to other members of the family. The other royals are there to support the queen and be where she can't be. The Queen can't be in two places at once, so she relies on the rest of the royal family to help fulfill engagements and connect with the public. , the royal family has about 2,000 engagements, entertains 70,000 guests, and answers 100,000 letters every year. And there are about that list a member of the royal family as a patron. Many have established their own charities, too. William and Kate with their kids, George and Charlotte, on a trip to Canada earlier this year. The Queen's husband, for example, attends engagements and is a patron of 800 charities. The Queen's oldest son, Charles, does lots of international trips with his wife to foster diplomatic relations. William and Kate have also taken a number of official tours, including. Some members of the family have day jobs, and others served in the military. A few family members have held non-royal jobs over the years: Edward, the Queen's youngest son, once worked for, while.

Andrew, the Queen's second son, as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. And the Queen's only daughter, Anne, on Great Britain's equestrian team. The family also has a long military history: The Queen, all three of her sons, Prince William, and Prince Harry all served in the armed forces, though none are still active today. Prince Harry spent 10 years in the armed forces. In fact, for the most part, the royals have stepped away from their personal endeavors in order to support the queen full-time. There are a few notable exceptions: The Queen's granddaughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, currently seventh and eighth in line to the throne, have day jobs. Eugenie is an associate director at an art gallery, and Princess Beatrice's says that she "works full time in the business world. " The Queen's first cousin, Prince Michael, and his wife is an. The most famous working royal is William, Duke of Cambridge, who for East Anglian Air Ambulance that he may soon step down from his job to assist the queen, too. William, Duke of Cambridge, on the job in 2015. Want to find out more about each royal's engagements and personal charity work? You can find their detailed bios. The monarchy is very definitely not 'value-for-money'. The monarchy does not cost each person 67p a year, as the palace claims. This figure is part of the official spin. It is reached by dividing 40m (a woefully inadequate figure) by 60m people, which includes every man, woman and child in the country (rather than just every taxpayer). Let's repeat the important point here: this is blatant spin. No other public expense is justified by dividing it among the total population.

If it were then almost any government expenditure could be spun as 'cheap'. The key figure is 150m, the estimated total cost for the maintenance and lifestyles of one family: 100 times the cost of the Irish presidency, 17 times the cost (per person) of members of parliament and without any return on our 'investment'. To test whether something is 'value-for-money' we need to judge what we get for our money and whether we can get something better for less. The monarchy completely fails this simple test. The estimated total annual cost of the monarchy to taxpayers is 202. 4m, around five times the official figure published by the royal household ( 38. 3m last year). The official figure excludes a number of costs, including round-the-clock security, lavish royal visits and lost revenue from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall. Civil List expenditure has increased by 94 per cent in real terms over the last two decades. 202. 4m is equivalent to 9,560 nurses, 8,200 police officers and more than the total annual Ministry of Defence spending on food. The total cost is also equivalent to a number of high profile government cuts, including cuts to the Sure Start programme. The British monarchy is 112 times as expensive as the Irish president and more than twice as expensive as the French semi-presidential system. Britain's royal family is the most expensive in Europe at more than double the cost of the Dutch monarchy. Taxpayers are kept in the dark about the exact cost of the monarchy, due to the royal household's exemption from the Freedom of Information Act and widespread misunderstanding about the nature of the royal family's finances